Practice continues for April 20 event at J. Birney Crum Stadium that will boost the fight against pancreatic cancer.

He was talking about his participation in the Allen-Dieruff alumni powderpuff football game at 2 p.m. on April 20 at Allentown's J. Birney Crum Stadium; an event that offers lots of positives, not the least of which is that proceeds will benefit the fight against pancreatic cancer.

Steckel, the father of the former Northampton head coach of the same name and a longtime area football coach himself, said he is having a blast as preparations continue for this reunion and rivalry renewal that is the brainchild of one of his former students and powderpuff players, Jennifer Glose.

"We're getting a chance to re-live some moments and renew some friendships," Steckel said. "We're remembering some cool times at Allen High School. This started in the mid-1980's and it was a great thing. I was a teacher at Allen at the time and seeing these kids again. … well, they're not really kids anymore even though they still call me Mr. Steckel. … is great."

Steckel has even enlisted the help of his longtime assistant, Lonnie Meisenhelter. Those two have coached Parkland middle school teams for years. Even George Clay, the current Allen head coach, is involved with this new, and yet much, older, Canaries squad.

"We've had three practices now and things are looking good," Steckel said Saturday after the latest session ended at JBC Stadium. "Before the first day of practice I was coming down Ott Street and wondering what the heck I would be saying to these women. I know what I say to my boys in regular football, but I didn't know what to say. The moment I got here, though, it was just wonderful."

Steckel said the players have encountered some bumps and bruises at practice, but nothing too serious.

"This is going to be competitive," Steckel said. "The players certainly know it's for a good cause and they're not 17 years old anymore, but they're here to compete."

One of the former/current Allen players, Lora (Snyder) Sigler, a member of the class of 1988, is thrilled to be back.

"I've always been athletic and I continue to be athletic, so this is an opportunity for us to come back and run around and have some fun," Sigler said. "Back when we played when we were in high school, this was a big deal.

"I remember in my senior year there was actually a discrepancy about who won. Dieruff was officially the winner, but there was some dispute about whether there was flags pulled or not pulled and Allen felt it didn't get a score when it should have. A lot of '88'ers' understand and remember that and we want to avenge that defeat."

And yet, Sigler, who will be one of Allen's wideouts, knows that it's all about defeating pancreatic cancer.

"My father died of cancer, and even though it wasn't pancreatic cancer, this cause is near and dear to me," Sigler said. "We're hoping for good weather and a lot of fun and laughter."

Certainly the "Cheer boys" should certainly deliver some laughter.

Clay said he was offered the chance to cheer, but knew a photo of that would show up on his locker room wall, so he decided to coach instead.

"I expect that some of my guys would be here with cameras if they knew I was a 'cheer boy' so I decided to coach," Clay said. "I was a student here when they started the powderpuff games and it was a real big deal. Of course, everything Allen-Dieruff was big back then."

Clay said he was a friend of Josette Burton-Walton, a 1988 Allen High graduate who died in 2010 at the age of 39. She left behind three kids and is the inspiration for this special event.

"Everybody I talk to knows about this and I think they're going to get a good crowd," Clay said. "This is great for the Allentown community. It's great to see everybody come together."

And everyone credits Glose for coming up with the idea and working tirelessly to pull it all together.

"The support has been tremendous," said Glose, a single mother of two who decided to go back to college later in her life and is using this event as a senior class project for Cedar Crest College.

"We went around the city to businesses and have more than 60 door prizes donated. Carrabba's, where I work, has donated almost $1,000 worth of prizes. People have also been donating to our bank account from as far away as Florida and North Carolina. The support has been amazing."

In total, 80 people are involved as players, coaches or cheer boys.

"If each participant brings just 10 people, we should have a nice crowd," Glose said. "People are amazed with how I've done all of this, but plans began a year ago and I've had a lot of help.

"We had a float in Allentown's St. Patrick's Day parade and the crowd went wild. I don't know if Allen and Dieruff have ever been in a parade together before. We even got a Facebook photo from a Dieruff alum, Patrick Thomas, who is stationed in Afghanistan. He's holding up a sign and they have mops on their heads as if they were cheer boys. It's amazing how many people we've touched with this event."

KEEPING IN TOUCH

Mansfield softball pitcher Caitlin Klobosits (Whitehall) continues to have a stellar senior season. She is 9-3 with a 1.54 ERA and four shutouts. In 72 and 2/3 innings, she has 91 strikeouts and 22 walks. She had a five-hit shutout in a win over IUP on Thursday. … Three local members of the Ursinus swimming team were honored as members of the Centennial Conference Winter Academic Honor Roll. Senior captains, Kaylani Wertman (Allen) and David Wagner (Whitehall) were chosen as well as senior Kelsey Yoo (Central Catholic). The Ursinus women's and men's teams attained program bests by finishing second at this year's conference championships. … Former North Carolina field hockey All-American Laree Beans (Emmaus) has been rehired as a Lafayette College assistant. Beans, a member of the staff when Lafayette won the 2010 Patriot League title, spent the last two seasons as an assistant at Delaware.